Sorry for the lack of updates; I have been so busy! Anywho.
Eid al-hadha is supposed to fall on Black Friday, which puts me in a bit of a pickle. My family is going to want me to go with them to a town where a lot of family lives, which means no Eid prayer, no further celebrations. It's very likely that I will be dragged from store to store. . . Black Friday has always been a love of mine, so refusing to go shopping would be very strange of me. Wanting to cut things short around seven would also be strange. Disappearing for the evening? Strange. And I can't do anything suspicious, because God knows what will happen if I get questioned.
I'm so tired of all this secrecy. I just want to be able to tell the truth, without a loss of security.
Eid al-fitr was amazing. It was just a random Sunday and I could do whatever I wanted. I went to Eid prayer, breakfast with a family I met, and went to a big community party which had everything from pumpkin pie to inflatable play-places. Er, in case anyone was wondering, a skirt and nylon tights is not a good combination for a slippery obstacle course.
The people I met on that day have been hesitant to keep in touch with me, and I've been sending a text every week or so, waiting for a real response. I don't want to be annoying, especially since they don't seem open to talking in the first place. . . I'm getting used to being alone all the time, though, I suppose.
I'll update later when I have something else that is Muslim-y to talk about, or when I have time. . . Don't hold your breath, heh.
Hey twin! (seriously, another post that I can completely relate to)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I will not be celebrating Eid al-Adha either. My parents and I are spending Thanksgiving with my aunt, uncle, and cousin in another city, so I can't go off and find a masjid for Eid prayer. I can't celebrate with friends. I can't even have a festive meal or wear new clothes that day. It truly makes me sad that I have to forgo the biggest Muslim holiday of the year because I am too afraid of what my parents will think. On a day that is supposed to be joyful, I am probably going to be depressed. Insha'Allah, we will both have the courage to tell our families as soon as possible.
One of these days, could you maybe write a post on how you get around praying and fasting without your family finding out? I would love to hear about that. Also, do you wear hijab when your parents are around? I am assuming you don't; I don't because I think that the hijab is one of the things that my parents dislike most about Islam. The closest I can get to wearing hijab is long sleeves and long pants; my mom doesn't even like me wearing long sleeves and long skirts because she says they look "too religious".
Salam aleikom,
ReplyDeletewow sis that is tough. do you know any muslim families you could go visit later in the day? is there a large community of muslims where you are? i used to live in the states, and i know its tough to spend holidays (eid) by yourself.
Madiha...why did you use the expression of Black Friday?
ReplyDeleteis there a compulsion to you from your family to change your religion?
(after reading, delete my post)
Thanks
Muslim brother,
Hamid
Black Friday is the day after American Thanksgiving, when there is shopping GAALOOOORE. I call it the true American holiday, lollll. It's called that because it falls on a Friday every year. Why it's black, I don't know. Maybe because people can easily lose all their money, making an allusion to Black Tuesday in 1929? I don't know. Anyway, this year, it just happens to be the same day that Eid is expected. My parents will expect me to shop or at least tag along with someone, so I don't know what to do. And it's very likely I'll be out of town for Thanksgiving. ):
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, there is. Well, there WAS. As far as my parents know, I already changed my religion. They think I have no religion. I will probably tell them after I graduate from college and get a job that is sufficient to pay for my living, which I expect to happen in late 2011/early 2012.
Sarah - I am acquainted with a couple families, but it's likely I'll be out of town. . . and I don't know any Muslims in the town I'm likely to go to. ): And no, the community is quite small. We have a very small masjid with a tiny turnout on Fridays. There isn't a halal meat market for a hundred or so miles. We're teeny. XD
ReplyDeleteWell Luckily for me I find it easy to figure out where to go. Eid prayer is much much more important to me then going to buy material items that can be bought at any time. For me I found the best deal before thanksgiving and bought everything now. Eid is very important to me and I would much rather go to the prayer and spend my day with family then go out shopping for items that I will probably just get tired of. Lots of my friends once they found out Eid was on black friday agreed instantly to go to the Eid prayer. I also dont really celebrate thanksgiving. We should be giving thanks every day of our lives so why celebrate one day? Sure eat turkey for dinner but why does that have to interfere with Eid. Nowhere in the Quran does it say "thanksgiving is more important than Eid" thanksgiving was a made up holiday Eid wasnt.
ReplyDeleteJust my personal opinion.